Venables and the "Red Stallion"
Chapter 1 "Repeat after me" said the parson. " I, Ishamel, take thee, Caternia Sforza-" The thought came up in Ishamel's mind that these were the last few seconds in which he could withdraw from doing something which he knew to be ill-considered. Caternia was the right women to be his wife, even admitting that he was suitable material for marriage in any case. His Father and mother were sitting down watching the wedding, including caternia mother, "To have and to hold...", "And thereto I plight thee my troth" repeated Mr. Venables, Mr. Warhawk was ready with the ring for ishamel and caternia, He gave ishamel the ring then he place it on her finger. "I pronouce that they are Man and wife.." Said the parson, and he went on with the blessing, and then a blank five secons followed, until caternia broke the silence."Oh Mel!!" she said and she laid her hand on his arm, Venables forced himself to smile down at her, they kissed each in front of everyone. Then everyone got up and clapped their hands for them, they open the door for the commander and his wife, "Cutlasses out!", the seaman drawn cutlasses for the couple to walk beneath, "Oh, how nice!" said Caternia,in childish delight; further more the array of seaman at the church door had attracted a crowd of spectators, all dressed in the blue and white checked shirts with which they got from the Red Stallion. Mr. Warhawk came out, then ishamel said"Thank you chris! also you too Mr. Kennedy!". Kennedy said" Much pleasure Mr. Venables and Miss Venables", They escorted him to the carriage, and they open a door for him and his lovely wife. She got on the carriage and said" Oh Mel!, I dream this ever since I was a child!'. He smiles at her while the seaman took the rope and started to carried the love one to a inn house, they started to pass by St. George and then the street of london. "Sir!, use the brake! The brake!" matthew said. Ishamel grab on the brake and arrive at the inn, The seaman open the door for the bride and the groom to come out, ishamel replies back" Thank you for helping me and Miss Venables here!", "Huzzah!, Huzzah!" the seaman shout!, 'Matthews?", "Sir!" matthew replies back, He gave him some couple of coins "I heard they serve some decents of rum around here!'. They enter the inn, the bulter came in said"Good Evening sir, good evening ma'am", also a gentleman will be coming to speak with you sir" the butler said. Ishmael replies "who and why is he coming?", The butler noticed a letter and he said it's was from Johanthan Goldtimbers and he wishes to see you at once. While the bride and the groom sits at the table, ishamel excuse for the moment and enter the office to see Johnny. Therefore he stands there with the wig on his head, "Ah congrats on your marriage Mr. Venables! And is she beautiful?" Ishamel replies "The most Italian women sir!", "I'l detain you for as short a time as possible. You know I've been appointed to the command of the Channel Fleet?" "Yes, Sir" "You know that Red Stallion is under my command?", "I expected that, but I didn't know, sir." Ishamel replies to Goldtimbers, "The Admiralty letter to that effect came down in my coach. You'll find it awaiting you on board." "Yes sir!", "Is the Red Stallion ready to sail?" Goldtimbers said to him, "No, sir." The truth and no excuses. Nothing else wound do. "How long?", "Two days, sir. More if there's delay with the ordnance stores". Goldtimbers was looking at him sharply indeed, but Venables returned glance for glance. He had nothing with which to reproach himself; nine days ago Red Stallion was still laid up in Ordinary."She's been docked and breamed?", "Aye, sir!". "She's manned?", "Yes, sir. A Good crew- the cream of the press." Ishamel said. "Rigging set up?", "Aye, sir" "Yards crossed?" Goldtimbers replies, "Yes, sir". "Officers appointed?", "Yes, sir A Lieutenant and four master's mates." "You'll need three months' provisions and water." "I can stow a hundred and eleven das at full rations, sir. The cooperage is delivering the water butts at noon. I'll have it all stowed by nightfall, sir", "Have you warped her out?" "Yes sir. She's at anchor now in Spithead." "You've done well," Said Goldtimbers. Venables tried not to betray his relief at that speech; from goldtimbers that was more than approval- it was hearty praise. "Thank you, sir.", "So what do you need more?" "Bosun's stores, sir. Cordage, canvas, spare spars." "Not easy to get the dockyard to part with those at this moment. I'll have a word with them. And then the ordance stores, you say?" "Yes sir. Ordance are waiting for a shipment of nine pounder shot. None to be had here at the moment." Ten minutes ago Venables had been thinking of words to please caternia. Now he was selecting words for an honest report to Goldtimbers. "I'll deal with that, too" said Goldtimbers. "You can be certain of sailing that day after tomorrow, if the win serves." "Yes, sir." "Now for your orders. You'll get them in writing in the course of the day, but I'd better tell you now, while you can ask questions: War's coming. It hasn't been declared yet, but Wright may anticipate us." "Yes, sir" "I'm going to blockade Brest as soon I can get the fleet to sea; and you're to go ahead of us." "Yes sir". "You're not to do anything to precipitate war. You're not to provide Wright with an excuse." "No, Sir" "When War's declared, you can of course take appropriate action until then you have merely to observe. Keep your eye on Brest. Look in as far as you can, without provoking fire. Count the ships of war-- the number and rate of ships with their yards crossed; ships still in ordinary ships in the Roads; ships preparing for sea." "Yes sir". "By Jove!". He exclaimed. "I was forgetting . This is your wedding day?", "Yes sir." "You were only married this morning?", "An hour ago, sir" "And I've taken you away from your wedding breakfast?" "Yes sir" It would be cheap rhetoric to add anything trite like "For King and Country", or even "Duty comes first". "Your good lady will hardly be pleased". Nor would his mother in law more espcially, thought Venables but again it would not be tactful to say so. "It's I who should make amends," replied Golditmbers. "Perhaps I could join the festivities and drink the bride's health?" "That would be most kind of you, sir", said Venables. If anything could reconcile Mrs. Sforza to his breach of manners, it would be the presence of Admiral the Honorable Sir Johanthan Goldtimbers at the breakfast table. "I'll come then, if you're certain I shan't be unwelcome... Private!, find my sword. Where's my hat!?" When Venables appeared again through the door of the coffee-room, Mrs. Sfroza's instant and bitter reproaches died away on her lips the moment she saw that venables was ushering in an important guest. She saw the glittering epaulettes, and the red ribbon and the star which goldtimbers had most tactfully put on as well as his sword, in honour of the orcasion. Venables made the introductions. "Long life and much happiness," said goldtimbers, bowing over Caternia's hand, "to the wife of one of the most promising officers in the King's Service." Caternia could only bob, overwhelmed with embarrassment in this glittering presence. "Enchanted to make your acquaintance Sir Goldtimbers" Said Mrs. Sforza. And the parson and his wife, and the few neighbours of Mrs. Sforza's who were the only guests, were enormously gratified at being in the same room as - let alone being person addressed by the son of an earl, a Knight of the Bath, and a commander in chief combined in one person. "A Glass of wine sir?" asked Venables. "With pleasure" Goldtimbers took the glass in his hand and looked round. It was significant that it was Mrs. Sforza whom he addressed. "Has the health of the happy couple been drunk yet?" "No, Sir", answered Mrs. Sforza, in perfect ecstasy. "Then I may I do so? Ladies, gentlemen: I ask you all to stand and join me on this happy occassion. May they never know sorrow. May they always enjoy health and prosperity. May the wife always find comfort in the knowledge that the husband is doing his duty for king and country, and may the husband be supported in his duty by the loyalty of the wife. And let us hope that in the time to come there will be a whole string of young gentlemen who wil wear the king's uniform after their father's example, and a whole string of young ladies to be mothers of further young gentlemen. I give you the health of the bride and groom!". The health was drunk amid acclamation, with all eyes turned on the blushing caternia, and then from her all eyes turned on Venables. He rose; he had realised, before Goldtimbers had reached the midpoint of his speech, that the admiral was using words he had scores of times before, at scores of weddings of his officers. Venables keyed up by the occasion, met Goldtimbers' eye and grinned. He would give as good as he got; he would reply with a speech exactly similiar to the scores that Goldtimbers had listened to. "Sir Johanthan, ladies and gentlemen, I can only thank you in the name of"—Venables reached down and took Caternia's hand-- "my wife and myself. As the laughter died away-- Venables had well known that the company would laugh at his mention of caternia as his wife, although he himself did not think it a subject for laughter- Goldtimbers looked at his watch, and Venables hastened to thank him for his presence and to escort him to the door. Beyond threshold, Goldtimbers turned and thumped him on the chest with his large hand. "I'll add be a goanother line to my orders for you," he said; Venables were actutely aware that Goldtimbers' friendly smile was accompanied by a searching glance. "Yes sir?" "I'll add my written permission for you to sleep out of your ship for tonight and tomorrow night." Venables opened his mouth to reply, but no words came, for once in his life his readiness of wit had deserted him. His mind was so busy re-assessing the situation that it had nothing to spare for his organ of speech. "I thought you might have forgotten," said Goldtimbers grinning, "Red Stallion's part of the Channel Fleet now. Her captain is forbidden by law to sleep anywhere except on board, without the permission of the commander-in-chief. Well, you have it." "Thank you sir," said Venables, at last able to articulate. "Maybe you won't sleep again for a couple of years. Maybe more than that, if Wright fights its out." "I certainly think he'll fight sir" "In that case you and I will meet again off Mar Del Plata in three weeks' time. So now good-bye, once more". The Next Morning, as Ishamel was sitting at the dining table with his bride and his mother-in-law, "It will look well in the Naval Chronicle," said Mrs. Sforza, "that the commander-in-chief proposed the health of the happy pair. Now, Ishamel, some of your guests have empty plates." Venables was still trying to be a good host when he saw across the room the worried face of the innkeeper again; it called for a second glance to see what had caused him to come in. He was ushering in Venables's new coxswain, Herwitt, a very short man who escaped observation across the room. Herwit made up in breadth a good deal of what he lacked in height, and he sported a magnificent pair of glossy black side whiskers in the style which was newly fashionable on the lower deck. He came rolling acoss the room, his straw hat in his hand, and, knuckling his forehead, gave Ishamel a note. The address was in Ironskull's handwriting and in the correct phrasing, although now a little old-fashioned: Ishamel Venables, Esq., Master and Commander. Silence fell on the assembled company- a little rudely, Venables thought- as he read the few lines: H.M Brig Red Stallion April 20th 1745 Sir: I hear from the dockyard that the first of the lighters is ready to come alongside. Extra pay is not yet authorized for dockyard hands, so that work will cease at nightfall. I respectfully sumbit that I can supervise that embarkation of the stores if you should find it inconvenient to return on board. Your obdt. servant, M. Ironskull "Is the boat at the Hard?" demanded Venables. "Yes, sir." "Very well. I'll be there in five minutes." "Aye aye sir." "Oh Mel", said Caternia, with a hint of reproach in her voice. No it was disappointment, not reproach. "My dear..." said Venables. It occured to him that he might now quote "I could not love thee, dear so much..." but he instantly discarded the idea; it would not be at all suitable at this moment, this wife. "You're going to the ship again!" said Caternia. "Yes." He could not stay away from the ship while there was work to be done. Today, by driving the hands, they could get half the stores on board at least. Tomorrow they could finish, and if Ordnance responded to the prodding of the admiral, they could get the power and shot on board as well. Then they could sail at dawn the day after tomorrow. "I'll be back again this evening," he said. He forced himself to smile, to look concerned, to forget that he was on the thresh old of adventure, that before him lay a career of possible distinction. "Nothing shall keep me from you dear," he added. He clapped his hands on her shoulders and gave her smacking kiss that drew applause from the others; that was the way to reintroduce a note of comedy into the proceedings, and, under cover of the laughter, he made his exit. As he hastened down to the Hard, two subjects for thought interwined in his mind, like the serpents of the medical caduceus; the tender love that caternia wished to lavish upon him, and the fact that the day after tomorrow he would be at sea, in command. Chapter 2 Someone must have been knocking at the bedroom door for sometimes; Venables had been conscious of it but was too stupid with sleep to think more about it. But now the door opened with a clank of the latch, and Caternia, awakening with a start, clutched at him in sudden fright, and he was fully awake.There was the faintest gleam of light though the thick bed curtains, a shuffling step on the oak floor of the bedroom, and a high- pitched female voice. "Eight bells, sir. Eight bells." The curtains opened a inch to let a ray of brigther light still, and Caternia's grip tightened, but they came together again as Venables found his voice. "Very well. I'm awake." "I'll light your candles for you," piped the voice, and the shuffling step went round the room and the light through the curtains grew brighter. "Where's the wind? What way's the wind" asked Venables, now so far awake as to feel the quickening of his heartbeat and the tensing of his muscles as he realised what this morning meant to him. "Now that I can't tell you, sir" piped the voice. "I'm not one who can box the compass, and there's no one else awake as yet." Venables snorted with annoyance at being kept in ignorance of this vital information, and without a thought reached to fling off the bedclothes so as to get up and find out for himself. But there was Caternia clasping him, and he knew that he could not leap out of bed in such a cavalier fashion. He had to go through the proper ritual and put up with the delay. He turned and Kisses her, and returned his eagerly and yet differently from on other occasions. He felt something wet on his cheek; it was a tear, but there was only that one single tear as caternia forced herself to exert self-control. His rather perfunctory embrace changed in character. "Darling, we're being parted," whispered caternia. "Darling I know you must go. But--but-- I can't think how I'm going to live without you. You're my whole life. You're..." A Great gust of tenderness welled up in Venables's breast, and there was compunction too, a pricking of conscience. Not the most perfect man on earth could merit this devotion. If Caternia knew the truth about him she would turn away from him, her whole world shattered. The cruelest thing do that. Yet the thought of being loved so dearly set flowing deeper and deeper wells of tenderness in his breast and he kissed her cheeks and sought out the soft eager lips. Then the soft lips hardened, withdrew. "No, angel, darling. No. I mustn't keep you. You would be angry with me-- afterwards. Oh, my dear life, say good-bye me. Then say good-bye, and say that you'll think of me sometimes as I shall always think of you." Venables said the words, the right words, and in his tenderness he used the right tone. Caternia kissed him once more, and then tore herself free and flung herself onto the far side of the bed face downward. Venables lay still, trying to harden his heart to rise, and Caternia spoke again; her voice was half-muffled by the pillow, but her forced change of mood was aparent even so. "Your clean shirt's on the chair, dear, and your second-best shoes are beside the fireplace." Venables swung himself out of bed and out though the curtains. The air of the bedroom were certainly fresher than that inside. The door latch clanked again and he had just time to whip his bed gown in front of him as the old chambermaid put her head in. She let out a high cackle of mirth at Venables's modesty."The ostler says light airs from the s'uthard, sir." "Thank you." The door closed behind her. "Is that what you want, darling?" asked Caternia, still behind the curtains. "Light airs from the s'uthard -- that means south, does it not?" "Yes, it may serve," said Venables, hurrying over to the washbasin and adjusting the candle so as to illiuminate his face. Lights airs from the south now, at the end of April, were hardly likely to endure. They might back or they might veer, but would certainly strenghthen with the coming of day. If Red stallion handled as well as he believed she would, he could weather the foreland and be ready for the next development, with plenty of searoom. But of course—as always in the navy—he could not afford to waste any time. The razor was rasping over his cheeks, and as he peered into the mirror he was vaguely conscious of Caternia's reflection behind his own as she moved about the room dressing herself. He poured cold water into the basin with which to wash himself, and felt refreshed turning away with his usual rapidity of movement to put on his shirt. "Oh you dress so fast!" said Caternia in consternation. Venables heard her shoes clacking on the oaken floor; she was hurriedly putting on a fresh mobcap over her hair, and clearly she was dressing as quickly as she could, even at the cost of some informality. "I must run down to see that your breakfast is ready," she said, and was gone before he could protest. He folded his neckcloth carefully, but with practised fingers, and slipped his coat; glanced at his watch put it in his pocket and then put on his shoes. He rolled his toilet things into his "housewife" and tied the tapes. Yesterday's shirt and his nightshirt and bed gown he stuffed in the canvas bag that awaited them, and the housewife on top. A Glance round the room told him that he had omitted nothing, although he had to look more carefully usual because there were articles belonging to Caternia scattered here and there. Bubbling with excitement, he opened the window curtains and glanced outside; no sign of dawn as yet. Bag in hand, he went downstairs dimly lit by an oil lamp dangling from the ceiling. Caternia looked in at him from the farther door. "Here's your place, dear," she said. "Only a moment before breakfast." She held the back of the chair for him to be seated. "I'll sit down after you" said Venables; it went against the grain to have Caternia waiting on him. "Oh, no," said Caternia. "I have your breakfast to attend to only the old woman is up as yet." She coaxed him into the chair. Venables felt her kiss the top of his head, felt a momentary touch of her cheek against his, but before he could seize her, reaching behind him, she was gone. She left behind her the memory of something between a sniff and a sob; the opening of the door into the kitchen admitted a smell of cooking, the hissing of something in a pan, and a momentary burst of conversation between Caternia and the old woman. Then in came Caternia, her rapid steps indicating that the plate she held was too hot to be comfortabe. She dropped it in front of him, a vast rump steak, still sizling on the plate. "There, dear," She said, and blusied herself with putting the rest of the meal within his reach while Venables looked down at the steak with some dismay."I picked that out for you specially yesterday," she announced proudly. "I walked over to the butcher's while you were on the ship". Venables settled himself not to wince at hearing a naval's officer wife speak about being "on" a ship; he also had to steel himself to having a steak for breakfast, when steak was by no means his favorite dish, and when he was so excited that he felt he could eat nothing. A rattling at the windows attracted their attention. The sot lee was opening the shutters, and they could dimly see his face for a moment, but it was still quite dark outside. Venables looked at his watch:ten minutes to five, and he had ordered his boat to be at the Sally Port at five. Caterina saw the gesture and looked over him. There was a slight trembling of her lips, a slight moisture in her eyes, but she kept herself under control."Dear," She said Caternia. "I have a little present for you" She was bringing something out from the pocket of her cloak and pressing it into his hand. " It's only gloves, dear, but my love comes with them," she went on. "Darling!" said Caterina, turning to him and lifting up her face to him in it's hood. He kissed her; down at the water's edge there was the familiar rattle of oars on thwarts, and the sound of male voices, as his boat' screw perceived the two shadowy figures on the Hard. Caterina heard those sounds as clearly as Venables did, and she quickly snatched away from him the cold lips she had to raised his. "Good-bye, my Angel." There was nothing else to say now, nothing else to do; this was the end of this brief experience. He turned his back on Caterina; he turned his back on peace and on civilian married life, and walked down towards war. Chapter 3 "SLACK WATER NOW, SIR," announced Ironskull. "First of the ebb in ten minutes. And anchor's hove short, sir." "Thank you, Mr. Ironskull." There was enough grey light in the sky now to see Ironskull's face as something more definite than a blur. At Ironskull's shoulder stood Prowse, the acting-master, senior master's mate with an acting-warrant. He was competing unobtrusively with Mark for Venables's attention. Prowse was charged, by Admiralty instructions, with "navigating and conducting the ship from port to port under the direction of the captain." But there was no reason at all why Venables should not give his other officers every opportunity to exercise their skull; on the contrary. More is coming!! More is Coming!